Indian Neeraj Chopra (PTI Photo)
The Indian Athletics Team for the 2026 Commonwealth Games has been finalised, with the Athletics Federation of India (AFI) naming a 32-member squad that mixes established international stars with several emerging talents across track and field events.The team, announced on Sunday, consists of 22 male and 10 female athletes, filling India’s entire quota for the Glasgow Games. Olympic and world champion Neeraj Chopra is among the biggest names on the list, although his participation remains subject to meeting pre-competition selection requirements.The Indian men’s team is very strong in jumps and throws.
Athletes like M. Sreeshankar, Tejaswin Shankar, Tajinderpal Singh Toor, Praveen Chithravel and Rohit Yadav have secured places in the team, while Gurinderveer Singh, Animesh Kujur and Gulveer Singh will lead the national challenge in the track and distance events.The women’s squad will rely heavily on experienced performers including Parul Chaudhary in the endurance events. In the field competitions, Manpreet Kaur, Seema and Nidhi Rane have been selected for the throwing event, while Raveena and Priyanka will represent India in the 10,000m race walk.
AFI also announced a dedicated squad for the 4x400m mixed relay, which includes Vishal TK, Rajesh Ramesh, Ansa Babu, Rashdeep Kaur and Neeru Pathak.Vice President of World Athletics and former IFAB President Adele Somariwala explained that the final selections strictly followed established IFA policy, including considering athletes who competed abroad after obtaining prior approval from the Federation.“We have selected the team today. As you know we have a quota of 32 athletes. We have selected 22 men and 10 women to fill the quota. As mentioned earlier, our selection was as per AAFI policy. We have also mentioned in the policy that athletes who sought special permission, who participated abroad, have been given prior permission, and their performance has been taken into consideration,” Adil Sumariwala said during a virtual media interaction on Sunday.One of the major discussion points following the announcement was the inclusion of Neeraj Chopra and triple jumper Silva Prabhu under conditional selection. Both athletes have requested that upcoming performances be taken into account before their participation in Glasgow is officially confirmed.According to Sumariwala, the federation agreed to evaluate the results of the scheduled competitions before making the final decision.“There are two people we have selected who have asked to be considered for their performances, one of them in the upcoming inter-state meet. This is Selva Prabhu who is also an NCAA athlete, and also Neeraj who has requested to participate in two competitions before the Commonwealth Games. If he achieves his qualifying level, he has also requested to be selected. Neeraj will participate in two international meets before the Commonwealth Games,” Sumariwala added.India squad for CWG 2026:men:Gurinderveer Singh – 100m, Animesh Kujur – 200m, Gulveer Singh – 5000m, 10000m, Tejas Ashok Shires – 110m hurdles, Yashas B – 400m hurdles, Santhosh Kumar Tamilarasan – 400m hurdles, Sarvesh Anil Kochhar – high jump, Adarsh. Ram Ji – High Jump, Dev Meena – Pole Vault, Kuldeep Kumar – Pole Vault, M. Sreeshankar – Long Jump, Lokesh Satyanathan – Long Jump, Praveen Chitravel – Triple Jump, Selva Prabhu* – Triple Jump, Samardeep Singh Gill – Shot Put, Tajinderpal Singh Toor – Shot Put, Neeraj Chopra* – Javelin, Rohit Yadav – Javelin, Yash Vir Singh – Javelin, Tejaswin Shankar – Decathlon, High JumpslimParul Chaudhary – 3000m steeplechase, 5000m steeplechase, Pooja – high jump, Manpreet Kaur – shot put, Seema – discus throw, Nidhi Rani – discus throw, Raveena – 10000m race walk, Priyanka – 10000m race walk.Mixed relay pool (4 x 400m Mixed Relay)- Vishal TK, Rajesh Ramesh, Ansa Babu, Rashdeep Kaur, Neeru PathakThe selections of Neeraj Chopra and Selva Prabhu remain provisional and will depend on their performances in competitions scheduled ahead of the Commonwealth Games.